M.A.N.T.I.S.

too many racial overtones. Just too much in your face racism its exhausting.

I remember watching MANTIS as a kid and thinking it was pretty cool. Now, seeing it again, I still think its pretty cool, although today the special effects seem a little lacking. The superhero was unique, at least on television, and smart, which made the show a nice change from the usual brain rot that still makes up the bulk of programming. It lasted one season and then vanished into obscurity until Hulu resurrected it, which I think is a shame (the vanishing, not the resurrection).
I don't think our society has progressed enough to have a black superhero on TV (or Hulu) as the main character and not have viewers immediately start looking for racial issues and commentary in the episodes, but MANTIS never really pushed it that hard, at least to me. Except for the pilot, which pushed it so hard it was hard to decide if there was a story there other than than the racial element. On top of that, the pilot two parter is one of the old style pilots, and is more of a display of concept than an intro to the rest of the series. This becomes very clear when you see the other episodes and realize the pilot doesn't fit into either the time-line or the plot. The series really starts with episode 3, and that's where I recommend you start watching.

I loved this series, yet that I can recall it didn't have a real end.

I remember the pilot for this show. He had a middle-aged non-black assistant. They changed it because the show wasn't black enough. I believe the reason the show died was because they over emphasied the african bias.

I just randomly clicked on this show to see what it was about--not bad. I had never even heard of M.A.N.T.I.S. before but I'm glad Hulu's carrying it. Introducing another generation to some cult classics that otherwise would be all but forgotten.The African-American orientation is in your face, but not in a bad way because it addresses concerns of not only the gang culture but also the affluent, middle class professional blacks who still have to deal with subtle and not-so-subtle discrimination. Somehow this show avoids the political correctness of Grey's Anatomy where everyone's colorblind and perfect.And you know something? It is refreshing to have a non-WASP cast for a change. A black guy in a wheel chair is ten times more heroic than your usual Hollywood-grown, blond Aryan perfect figure sex symbol.The hero is not totally super; his batteries can run out, and a sharp blow with an iron bar can short his suit out temporarily. Iron Man solved those problems by using a space age power reactor and military grade titanium armor. Mantis makes up for the lack of access to Tony Stark's factories with a moral code that prevents him from loading his air car with offensive weaponry. His suit is equipped with harmless paralysis darts. He prefers to talk rather than fight.I've only watched the pilots so far, and I'm eager to gobble up the rest of this series. Too bad it only lasted one season because it had some great ideas in it. And it's nice to see Gina Torres in one of her earlier roles before moving up the ladder to Firefly and future endeavors.

I remember watching this on tv. I wonder why they canceled it. It was a great show.Thanks Hulu, for this!

I have not seen it sense i was a kid. I wish they made more seasons. Thank you hulu.